Pride FC Officially Sold to The Fertittas

Props to MMAWEEKLY for tracking the story. In a press conference in Japan this morning Dana White as well as Lorenzo Fertittas announced that they have purchased Pride FC. The new entity would be called Pride FC Worldwide Holdings LLC. The first Pride vs. UFC match would be Pride 34 on April 7 and will feature Jeff Monson vs. Kazuyuki Fujita. During the press conference a video if Mirco Crocop was played, where he said he had unfinished business in Japan. The Fertittas are going to keep this a worldwide company, so they need to earn the support of the Japanese people. The unofficial price tag of Pride FC is around 70 million. At first I was against the deal, thinking that the UFC would take over and control the sport of MMA. Now I see that there not going to just make one huge event but, keep Pride FC separate and promote huge fights between the two. You just can’t beet the match ups that can be made now.

Quote from Lorenzo Fertitta:

“This is really going to change the face of MMA,” Lorenzo Fertitta said. “Literally creating a sport that could be as big around the world as soccer. I liken it somewhat to when the NFC and AFC came together to create the NFL.”